Thursday

A dairy that provides milk used in Fairlife dairy products stands accused of animal abuse, prompting some major retailers to stop selling the popular brand.

The allegations against Fair Oaks Farm in Fair Oaks, Ind., came to light following a months-long investigation by Animal Recovery Mission, an animal-rights group.

Members of that group obtained jobs at the farm and, over the course of several months, recorded multiple incidents of "systemic and illegal abuse," Chicago TV station WMAQ reports.

“In our 10 years of being undercover, we have never seen such consistent, constant abuse to a newborn baby animal,” ARM founder Richard Couto said, according to WMAQ.

“Employees were observed slapping, kicking, punching, pushing, throwing and slamming calves,” ARM said in a written statement. “Calves were stabbed and beaten with steel rebars, hit in the mouth and face with hard plastic milking bottles, kneed in the spine, burned in the face with hot branding irons, subjected to extreme temperatures, provided with improper nutrition, and denied medical attention.”

Fairlife, which is a Coca-Cola brand, said it has stopped taking milk shipments from Fair Oaks Farm. Four farm employees shown in the videos have been terminated, as well.

"The dairy identified in the video represents less than 5 percent of Fairlife’s total milk supply," the company said in a written statement. "Approximately 30 dairies support Fairlife; therefore, we are visiting all supplying dairies in person and conducting independent 3rd party audits within the next 30 days to verify all animal husbandry practices at the farms, including all training, management and auditing practices. We will also continue to work with Fair Oaks Farms to ensure specific actions are taken to address this situation and uphold our high standards for animal care."

Fair Oaks Farm founder Dr. Mike McCloskey released a written statement of his own that said, in part: "I am disgusted by and take full responsibility for the actions seen in the footage, as it goes against everything that we stand for in regards to responsible cow care and comfort. The employees featured in the video exercised a complete and total disregard for the documented training that all employees go through to ensure the comfort, safety and well-being of our animals.

"It is a shock and an eye-opener for us to discover that under our watch, we had employees who showed disregard for our animals, our processes and for the rule of law. This ARM video shines a light on an area that – despite our thorough training, employee on-boarding procedures and overall commitment to animal welfare – needs improvement."

McCloskey also expressed concern that the group waited months to let him know about the incidents it caught on video.

A number of retailers said they were halting sales of Fairlife products, at least temporarily, including Jewel Osco and Family Express, WMAQ says.